Much of Thunderbirds‘ depiction of what the world of the future may look like is grounded in the real-world developments of technology and space engineering of the 1960s. Many of those developments continue to become within reach now in the 2020s, with a stream of new missions from NASA and the European Space Agency and exciting developments in rocket technology.
This Thunderbirds Thursday, we’re examining how the retrofuture world of Thunderbirds showcases the excitement and danger that comes with its own take on the space race!
Solarnauts & Space Highways
Cutting-edge developments in rocket engineering, satellite construction and space exploration are a key focus of the world of Thunderbirds, existing alongside the many other advanced developments in all kinds of machinery and vehicles in 2065. International Rescue’s founder and leader, Jeff Tracy, enjoyed early career-defining success as one of the very first men to land on the moon. Since then, civil and military space operations have become commonplace in Thunderbirds‘ retrofuture timeline. Space bases such as Cape Kennedy, Sentinel Base, and Glenn Field all serve as bustling hubs of galactic activity, where simultaneous missions to the stars hope to enable us to discover more about the universe we live in.
Stationed at Cape Kennedy, the colossal Sun Probe rocket is tasked with the incredibly dangerous mission of capturing a piece of the sun itself. Operation Sun Probe, as it’s known, is one of humanity’s grandest attempts to harness the awesome power of the stars and unravel what mysteries they may contain.
Beyond the grandiose nature of Operation Sun Probe, other smaller-scale missions, by comparison, are often underway. Sentinel Base boasts the high-tech ability of automatic countdown launch sequences for its rockets, which are tasked with placing satellites into orbit around the Earth. Other satellites such as the cluster of Space Observatory craft operate under the Aeronautical Centre, a military establishment whose satellites exist to scan all areas of the globe to keep the peace.
Beyond the TV series, Thunderbirds‘ spin-off media showcases other avenues of space exploration, particularly within the shared Anderson timeline of TV Century 21. Throughout these comics, outer space is shown to become roadless highways of the stars, in which cargo craft transport vital materials and supplies between neighbouring planets of the solar system. Some of these vessels harbour darker secrets, however. What lurks inside the transporter seen in Visitor from Space gives International Rescue one of its most violently deadly missions ever and the secrets held by Operation Depthprobe are ones that not even the Tracy brothers are permitted to know.
Rescue & Exploration
Even in the human-centric world of Thunderbirds, the search for extra-terrestrial life grips the world. Multiple missions are in place to uncover the possibilities of alien life, with both Martian Space Probe and the mighty Zero X tasked with exploring the cosmos. Both have endured their share of failures, however. The MSP rocket, with its all-too conventional design, has to be transported by slow and arduous road to a precise launching site.
More successful by comparison is the multi-component starship Zero X. The craft’s winged lifting bodies allow the elaborate craft to take off like a conventional aircraft, and can jettison its detachable lifting bodies once their purpose has been served. Zero X’s mission is to discover the secrets of Mars, which it’s able to do so thanks to the craft’s ingenious multi-section capabilities. The cockpit section of the craft can detach to become the shuttle-esque Martian Exploration Vehicle, able to be piloted down onto the planet’s surface and deploy its heavy-duty tractor treads to fully explore the alien terrain. Zero X promises to greatly enhance our understanding of the Red Planet – we just have to hope the craft isn’t suspectable to industrial sabotage!
At the heart of Thunderbirds‘ depiction of advanced space technology are International Rescue’s own space-age marvels, Thunderbird 3 and Thunderbird 5. Serving as a vital link between Tracy Island and the outfit’s all-seeing, all-hearing satellite, Thunderbird 3 is also I.R.’s primary space rescue vehicle. It’s fantastic engine power and fuel consumption enable the craft to reach dizzying speeds in outer space, able to reach any cosmic danger zone. Thunderbird 5 serves as International Rescue’s watchful presence over the world that it exists to serve. The satellite possesses incredible functional capabilities that allow it to capture incoming distress transmissions from any corner of the globe. Relayed to Tracy Island via its operator, mostly John Tracy, a call to Thunderbird 5 is often the catalyst for another of International Rescue’s incredible rescue missions.
Thunderbirds presents us with a sprawling array of enticingly realistic depictions of space travel, and so much of what the series predicted in 1965 continues to emerge in the real world. From the parallels between Thunderbird 5 and the International Space Station to recent successes in VTOL landings of real-world spacecraft, Thunderbirds continues to set the standard for how space should be explored!
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